The incident took place around 1:30 a.m. Saturday in the Cumberland Ave. and Spence St. area

A Winnipeg man is dead after being stabbed by someone he may not have even known, police said.

Winnipeg police said a 57-year-old man was walking home early Sunday morning when he was stabbed multiple times to the upper body in the Spence Street and Cumberland Avenue area. (Stacey Jacques/CBC)

Tony Pereira says he has known Serpa for about 30 years and was shocked by news of his friend's death. (Alana Cole/CBC)

The victim, 57-year-old Helder Serpa, was walking home early Saturday morning when a male stranger approached him in the Cumberland Avenue and Spence Street area.

The two got into an altercation. Serpa was stabbed numerous times in the upper body and died of his injuries.

Police tracked down a suspect in the same area a short time later.

"We did come across a male ... approximately an hour later still in the area," said Winnipeg police Const. Jason Michalyshen. "This individual was identified as a suspect by patrolling members. He was taken into custody for further interview by members of our homicide unit."

A 35-year-old man is facing a charge of second-degree murder.

"The victim is not known to police," said Michalyshen. "Based on our investigation, this clearly appears to be a vicious attack against an individual. Very, very unfortunate."

Michalyshen said police located a weapon from the 35-year-old suspect.

Victim a 'quiet man'

Roy Marques worked in construction with Serpa for many years.

Marques said he'll miss morning coffee runs with Serpa at their local Portuguese café.

"He enjoyed his culture, his Portuguese culture, his music," said Marques. "He would dance and sing and kind of enjoy [making] everybody laugh in the club.

"He was a very quiet man, but when he had his friends around he would kind of open up and enjoy sing and dance."

He added, "He didn't have family here, he was never married, never had a wife or had kids…. He always talked about, of course, spending time eating [the food of] his cultures, the food he enjoys."